For those who haven't yet been sold on the idea of Stephen Curry playing shooting guard less effectively than he plays point guard, the big-bodied point is intriguing because it would allow Curry to score in buckets; shedding opponents off the ball and raining water balloons from out behind the arc. Virtually all candidates are veterans - and established field generals. The team could benefit heavily with the addition of a big point guard. The biggest possible detriment, I feel, would be moving Klay Thompson to the 3. Sure, he's 6'7", but he's not nearly strong enough to command the respect of the game's physical wing players - yet, anyway. The big point guard is a player the Warriors may need to enter the luxury tax for... but if they expect him to make a Chris-Paul-esque difference, Lacob and company will gladly shell out.

Miller could fall victim to the Nuggets' recent refusal to reward veterans with contracts. If that happens, Dre will likely put team's that'd start him over teams that want him as a bench player - and Golden State might overpay, both as a dual insurance policy on Steph's health (playing off the ball more) and the team's consistent chemistry with a point guard that plays most of the season very consistently. Williams is going to go to Dallas and if he doesn't, Kidd will. And assuming he DOES, the Miami Heat look like the PERFECT final team for Kidd to take another stab at it with.

The Prodigal Bench 4

The Warriors are thin at frontline depth. If they want to add a player via free agency, it's a nice fantasy to imagine them coming to mutual terms with a former Warrior - that the fans are already loyal to - taking a minor hometown discount. Be it defense, rebounding, or offense, the Warriors relied heavily on the dubstitutes last year and if they can convince one of these guys to take the MLE (or lower), for a chance to be on a loaded sleeper that played all but an appetizer of the season without Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry. With Lee, Thompson, and a likely top 7 pick in tow, the Warriors would be devilishly sly to approach one of these options rather than an overpriced or overrated unknown.

The fans - and the Warriors - would love to convince Antawn Jamison or Matt Barnes that they are just as well off trying to help the Warriors win a title at a mid-level rate than they are with the Lakers, the Thunder, the Heat, or the Mavericks. Jamison can find a PF seeking suitor that will pay him over the mid-level to start and provide veteran leadership. Barnes is among the most sought after glue-guys in the league; if he leaves the Lake Show, it will be for OKC or Miami. He's that good.

The Warriors are best off giving Anthony Toliver a Dominic McGuire kind of deal from last year. If you can reacquire Toliver for pennies on the dollar, you might as well. You know he'll bring rebounding, defense, and energy in limited time as a bench 4-5.

The High Octane Luxury-Level Spark

As with a large bodied point guard, acquiring a talent the likes of these gentlemen will almost certainly push you into luxury tax territory. The Warriors have some major weapons going into next season and adding any of these players will boost the output of this team in a very certain, very positive way. Putting a 5th weapon on the floor alongside Golden State's four starter-quality players would leave the starting lineup without much of a weakness and virtually guarantee a playoff spot.

If the Warriors could hypnotize Ray Allen into being Klay Thompson's opposite wing jedi master, the inside-outside dichotomy of Lee/Bogut out to Curry-Allen-Thompson is, by and away, the single most dangerous 3-point team possibly EVER assembled. It would be an absolute joy to watch these guys unselfishly share the rock and rain down on opponents that have no choice but to respect the Lee-Bogut tandem inside. With Lacob's former Celtic ties and well known praise of Ray Allen, this is not a pipe dream like the DWilliams or JKidd dreams. Allen might be sold (and slightly overpaid) on a final 3-year tour of duty in Oakland. Naturally, if this happens, expect Brandon Rush to walk freely out of California.

Gerald Wallace is just as nasty of a fantasy, but far less realistic. He's younger than Allen and at this point in his career, will probably command more years at a higher salary. The Warriors would also have to let Dominic McGuire walk if they brought in Wallace and Mark Jackson believes McGuire is an asset. This direction would really shock me.

However, if the Warriors resigned Brandon Rush and Dominic McGuire AND decided to bring back Nate Robinson, not only would it be a tremendous boost to keep the bench brigade intact, but it would be a remarkable statement that this team is willing to pay for talent and continue to retain the guys that bring them more W's. Regardless of who has more potential, Nate Robinson was responsible for more wins than Charles Jenkins. If the Warriors bring back all 3 of the dubstitutes, the addition of Bogut alone will probably be enough to push them into the playoffs, where anything is possible.

The free agent I'm zeroing in is Terrence Williams. His problem isn't what he could do on the court because the guy can flat out ball. He reminds me of Andre Iguodala. He's a do it all guy that can play solid defense. He's unselfish and will get others involved. At 25 years old, he's still young. He made $2M this past season with the Kings. They could probably sign him for 3 years and $10M. If he gets his head straight, that could be a bargain and is less than what the signed Dorell Wright to. In an face paced game, this guy could really shine. The guy averaged 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 3 games in the D-league so expecting 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists wouldn't be a stretch in this offense.

32 wrote:Terrence is a nut job. Don't get me wrong; he's got crazy ability, but 3 teams have already taken fliers on him and 2 team's dropped him for nada. That makes me think there's something wrong with him.

Is anybody else wildly intrigued by Andre Miller?

I would love Andre Miller, as soon as the season ended that was the guy I wanted moving forward.

Another guy that I really like, but he wouldn't make much sense on this team, is Ersan ilyasova. If he could play the SF position, then I'd go all in on him, but he's probably more of a PF. He's going to be a starter somewhere and someone is going to throw good money on him. Something in the neighborhood of $7M a year. He's a tough rebounder and can shoot the ball while still being 25 years old. He's not going to sign for less to be a bench player on this team.

BayAreaHoopz wrote:Another guy that I really like, but he wouldn't make much sense on this team, is Ersan ilyasova. If he could play the SF position, then I'd go all in on him, but he's probably more of a PF. He's going to be a starter somewhere and someone is going to throw good money on him. Something in the neighborhood of $7M a year. He's a tough rebounder and can shoot the ball while still being 25 years old. He's not going to sign for less to be a bench player on this team.

There is absolutely no way in hell Ilyasova is not in a Bucks uniform next year, unless they trade him. The bucks are WELL under the salary cap and could dish out 2 max contracts contracts if they wanted AND they'd still have their MLE and Bi-annual. If I was the Bucks GM (no clue who it is), I'd be talking to Utah or Minnesota who are stacked with big men and see if they'd be willing to deal. Utah needs a point guard and Milwaukee has Jennings and Ellis they could potentially deal. I'd also be making hard runs at Omer Asik, Chris Kaman, and Brook Lopez.

It would be really nice to see them get a big man too, mainly because I'd love to see Ellis in a playoff game.

The Hawks FO are imbiciles. They overachieved this season winning as much as they did with Horford out and they don't throw a truckload of money at JSmith. They look like they'll do what they did last time and wait for a team to offer him something and then just match, which is a disrespect to JSmith.

I'd look to trade Lee for him, but that;s it, no other deal with the Hawks, no point relly. The team needs to get a very good SF and move onto next season.